Wesimation Blog

The Panasonic Viera LCD TV with its sleek design it could almost fit into absolutely any room or any house easily. The LCD has a black frame, silver lining in the middle and then fitted with perfection black on the back. The TV has features such as…

• Supports HDMI (1080i, 720p, 576p)
• SD Card Slots
• MPEG 4 Video recorder/player
• 3D Colour-Management
• Sub-pixel control (improves quality)
• Finally all the usual stuff that comes with a normal TV

This TV will blow you away with the picture quality even when viewing free to air channels; this is because the TV has an inbuilt set top box which enables it to receive High Definition (HD) channels. While I was watching my favourite show of all time The Simpsons, I actually thought for a second that I was watching cable TV. This TV is simply amazing and goes well with the latest gaming console the PlayStation 3 which I can’t afford so please if anyone would like to donate feel free to do so :D.

 Summary: The Panasonic Viera LCD will blow the average viewer out of their brains when they first turn it on and it has a very sexy, sleek design. Although the LCD has a hefty price (about five thousand Australian dollars), it comes with all the essential features for future devices which means you won’t need to upgrade the TV for a while. The TV is also lightweight, packed with features and makes normal channels look amazing. I will have to give the TV a 4/5 Star Rating.

Panasonic Viera Official Website

Sam & Max the well known hilarious comical characters have come back once more with Sam & Max Season 2! The first episode has been called “Ice Station Santa” where Sam & Max your favourite characters are back once more to fight the evil off the planet with any means necessary which is not a sentence that should be used around Sam & Max often. This episode starts gamers straight where it left off and gets the gamers strapped into the action without any delay. Without giving too much away the episode is absolutely hilarious with corny jokes all over the place and has strong unique swing music through out the beginning credits and ending credits. The story line follows Sam & Max while they defeat the evilest and meanest person in the universe… Santa Claus!

Not only has Santa Claus become evil but he is forcing the elves to outsource all products to the baby penguins, now we all know what happens when you outsource a product. The jokes within Sam & Max are hilarious, while sometimes going in circles and leading no where. The puzzles within the game, for me were pretty easy and straight forward so for gamers that are looking for a hard challenge might want to miss out on this game, but if you chose to then you are also missing out on the comedy. There is a hint system which gamers can turn off; this is for new gamers to the series as they may not have played Sam & Max games before or otherwise known as adventure games. Another handy feature for new gamers is the tutorial which is a first I have seen for adventure type games.

Summary: Sam & Max Season 2: Episode 1 Ice Station Santa brings comedy to a new level however it is advised that the whole of season 1 is completed first to get a grip of the game style and also to understand the story line as season 2 begins straight where season 1 ends. After completing the game in a matter of hours and having laughed my ass off, I am going to have to give Sam & Max Season 2: Episode 1 Ice Station Santa a 4.5 / 5 star rating. Why did they lose .5 of a star? Simply because they could improve the puzzles by making them a tiny bit less obvious however on the other hand, the team has done an excellent job with the game and I hope for a lot more memorable moments with Sam & Max.

Sam And Max Season Two Official Website

I just found another BitTorrent err… Applet? No this is not a client, no its not super man and yes it does run on your current browser without installing anything (unless you don’t have the Java Virtual Machine plugin). This is good for people that are paranoid about adware, spyware or trojans coming from the client as it does not directly install onto your computer. Although I have never had a problem with this Applet (which is a fancy term for saying its written in Java code), there is a potential problem that could occur which is, if the browser crashed your download would be lost to infinity and beyond so be warned!

However after saying all that, this applet simplifies some of the major hassles that a normal client would have such as configuring your router or firewall. With this applet I didn’t have to configure anything, even though I used a brand new router and firewall… which is rare these days. Although the Applet is in ‘experimental’ stages it worked for me when I tried in all three major browsers (Safari, FireFox and Internet Explorer) and the Applet is still useful for downloading and uploading reasonably small files. There is however still a settings function just in case something doesn’t work, in the settings menu you can change the port and change your maximum upload rate which is in kilobytes. There is also a small help section for users that are stuck while using the Applet and a bookmarklet for injecting a feature into most search engines which will allow the user to download with BitLet directly.

Summary: BitLet is an extremely small Applet and no installation is required for the actual client which means this is spyware and adware free program. There are not many functions but is sufficient for the basic torrent user needs with less hassle than a normal BitTorrent client. For this Applet I will have to give a 4.5 / 5 star rating as it does what it needs to do but once again there is a slight issue of what if the browser crashes? If you would like to use the BitLet Applet then please follow the link below.

BitLet.org experimental

BitLet BitTorrent Applet Official Site

CMWebhosting.net is a reliable and effective hosting company and is quite well known around the world with a Google page rank of four (which is pretty damn good). It is not a free hosting company but it is a quite a cheap hosting company with plans starting at $4.00 for a hell of a lot of features, 500MB storage space and 4000MB worth of bandwidth. The company prides itself as being a cash flow positive company and has zero debt and zero loans which means it can afford to give you cheaper plans than other web hosting companies. Another thing this company prides itself on is its servers and connections.

With an Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz processor, 1024MB amount of RAM, Direct Admin Panel and Fedora Core 5 as the operating system, this server is pretty good for a shared web hosting server and has an excellent uptime of one hundred and fifty-eight days. This is only one of the many other servers for other services; however this is the main server for CMWebhosting.net. The server also has over 5GBit of network capacity which means it can avoid DDoS attacks and keeps your server up for longer, it has its own uplinks and peering in the US/UK giving low latency and you could have your service setup on the same day as the order. So what does all the network mumbojumbo mean for you? Basically you get a fifty percent quicker response time than other US/UK hosts and a maximized uptime.

The company has a few other services such as Dedicated WebHosting, Virtual Dedicated Hosting, IRCd, Shells and CoLocation (Coming Soon). On another side note the customer support is fantastic; basically you have two choices to ring up or to submit an online ticket (which is free). The customer support is friendly, effective and extremely efficient at answering your problems that you have with them and have answered all of my emails with just one reply while having solved the problem.

Summary: I have been with CMWebhosting and currently using the host for about 6 months or more and have been completely satisfied with the company overall. With a wide selection of services, fantastic customer support, fast servers and allowing quite a lot of customization I am going to have to give CMWebhosting a 5/5 star rating!

CMWebHosting Official Website

The battle between Mac and PC has just gotten bigger, with the release of the new update which brings us to version 3.0.4 of Apples world famous browser Safari. For years users have been changing from Mac to PC and vice versa now on the streets I seem to be seeing a lot more Macs which is a fantastic thing for the company Apple. So what comes with the test version of the browser? The main features are…

• Security, never again will your information be leaked onto the internet or accessed by a H4ck3r (Hacker) believe me I’ve tried.
• Built-in RSS, this will tell you when new content is added to a particular or your favourite site.
• Resizable Text Fields, ever felt like the text box you are entering data into is too small? well with Safari you can now change the size with a simple click and drag in the corner!
• Blazing Performance, Safari has to be the fastest browser in the world at the moment of this post.

These are the main features, not all of them and the beta is for windows which means it is a test version for us, PC Users. However all these features may sound fantastic and all that, but you have to know it isn’t all that ;P [Confusing huh?] Well basically since it is a test version with all these rad features you also get pleanty of errors. For example when I try writing this post and then I resize the text box it, nothing seems to come out… Another example of these fantastic errors is the null:10053 error which I have no idea what it means yet but seem to be when the browser loses contact with the server (even if it is just for a split second which is why it is annoying).

Summary: The browser is absolutely fantastic in terms of speed but it needs some work in functionality and usability, however it is only a test version and I hope there is plently more to come. For this test version 3.0.4 I give it a 3/5 star rating.

Official Apple Safari Website

Well hello there! Yes I do have exams on at the moment and that is why I have not been posting as regularly. Today I will be talking about an anti-virus product called NOD32 developed by proud owners Eset who shipped in a new version recently, which brings us up to version 3.0 (YAY!). I have been using NOD32 Anti-Virus for a while now and I must admit all this hype about the new version is not really needed, however this new version does have its highlights. What NOD32 Anti-Virus offers and has always offered is…

• Proactive Detection - Using ThreatSense technology, ESET NOD32 will proactively protect your computer against known and unkown malware or threats and is extremely effecient at detecting malicious behaviour on your computer system.

• Extremely Lightweight - NOD32 is so well built that when I look at the amount of RAM that NOD32 is consuming its only about 7MB which is essential to get the most out of my computers performance.

• Fastest Scanning - This anti-virus not only protect your computer, it also does it effeciently. The scanning times will vary from PC to PC

You might think, “Well all those features are great and all but whats new with it?” Well as far as I can tell without looking at the whats new page, the updates are smaller and the GUI (Graphical User Interface) has been completely revamped which now makes the product much more visually appealing while making it even easier to use than before. Summary: This has to be the best anti-virus on the market to date and even the VB record agrees with me which can be found at the Virus Bulletin Website. This product developed by ESET is a masterpeice in design not only for the GUI but also the way the product was programmed and I cannot resist but give thie product a 5 out of 5 star review.

ESET Official Website

I saw this a few weeks ago but havn’t had the time to blog about it, so here we go. EFTel a DSL company has finally announced that there will be a major rollout of the new VDSL2 hardware to at least 70 exchanges nationwide (Australia).

You might be wondering what exactly is VDSL2? Well it is another step up to high speed broadband from ADSL2+, VDSL2 will offer speeds of up to 100Mbit/s which is about four times faster than the maximum speed of ADSL2+. However there is a slight downfall as VDSL2 is a lot more dependent on distance, with speeds comparable to ADSL2+ after 1.6KM. Thus, only people close to the local exchanges will be able to see major improvements to their speeds.

VDSL2 has not yet been approved for use in Australia, however EFTel expects the process to complete early next year. Once it is approved in Australia EFTel will have a nice head start against its competitors, as it will be able to roll out VDSL2 capable hardware as soon as it is approved from the beginning. While EFTel is soaking up the money and the gloary, other competitors will still be replacing their ADSL2+ DSLAMs with new ones to enable the technology which means competitors could lose quite a bit of customers which equal money.

EFTel's MSANs can deliver VDSL2, ADSL2+, traditional ADSL, SHDSL corporate solutions, normal PSTN Voice services, IP Video, VoIP, and Bare DSL", said the announcement. EFTel will use Huawei hardware, with backhaul provided by PIPE Networks. "Commencing in February 2008, the MSANs will be aggressively rolled out at a rate of 15 exchanges per month, with an initial schedule of 70 exchanges nationwide.

EFTel will be making the network available to its aaNet brands, as well as its customers of the wholesale division, DataFast.

EFTel Announcement

EFTel Official VDSL2 Website

With all these exciting new games coming out recently it is amazing to see another game in stores now! The new game is called “F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate Ships” and is likely to be a world wide hit like all the other past games that it is based on. We asked around and this is what they had to say:

In Perseus Mandate for Windows-based PC, players face off against new enemies as they take point on a second F.E.A.R. team investigating the mysterious paranormal phenomena at Armacham. Perseus Mandate features several frenetic multiplayer modes available to players online, as well as a deeply immersive single player storyline that runs parallel to the original F.E.A.R. and first expansion pack Extraction Point. The second expansion pack reveals a new perspective on the initial disturbance, challenging players to find out what Perseus actually is and why the Nightcrawlers have been called in to collect it.

The press release also comfirmed that F.E.A.R. Files, the expansion for the Xbox 360 will be released on November 15th. Which hopefully will be another kick ass release as the original game was and also a hit world-wide. F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate Ships is currently released world-wide on PC and Xbox 360. 

F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate Trailer

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be in the army? Have you ever had questions about the army and the training they go through? Well now you can experience an army experience like never before! With the online game having developed a Co-op mode of the game a few versions ago and released a patch a few weeks ago to bring us to version 2.8.2. It contains a number of fixes and additions to the game in order to enhance our gaming experience. This game just has to be the one of the best if not the best FREE online game on PC, it has a number of features ranging to controls of a humv to the basic deathmatch options in a regular game and has been out for a while with no free game coming close to it.

It takes a while to get used to this game and there are specific training tasks the gamer has to complete in order to achieve maximum use of this games map play. For example the gamer will need to complete the Special Forces training before he/she can play the Special Forces Maps. However this is essential to prevent players or noobs coming onto servers and asking for help with the game. Also for users that might want to actually join the army in real life there is a section called “Real Heroes” which will tell a little bit more about soldiers lives that are in the army. In summary the game has good graphics, a nice netcode and a hell of a nice experience with the army.

Official Americas Army Game Website

Some of you may remember the COD (Call of Duty) series and some of you may have realized the amount of high quality games being released this season. However if you are a really enthusiastic gamer and really own in FPS games then you will absolutely love this post! With the game, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare coming out pretty soon (3 days from this post) it is about time that everyone starts talking about it and promoting it.

With the game which is about to take the world by storm, Game Arena is promoting COD 4 and you can register for the competition on the Game Arena website (see link below). If you prove your dominance over other games you will win a brand new Philips Cineos 42″ television, valued at $3,499.95! The game will be in deathmatch mode, where you will have to battle it out each round with the other players to get the most points. Each round will see the winners move up until the Grand Final where the best of the best will frag all those in their way to take the 42″ LCD TV from Philips! Make sure you register soon so you don’t miss out and yes, you have to be in it to win it!

Click Here to register for the competition at Game Arena NOW!